This invention relates to seating and bedding products and, more particularly, to such products which include spring assemblies containing rows of springs made from a single continuous wire, as well as to methods of manufacturing such products.
At the present time, many different seating and bedding products contain rows of interconnected springs made from a single strand of wire. Conventionally, such products are manufactured by forming a strand of wire into a continuous stream of springs which must then be cut-to-length and those cut-to-length strands or rows of coils then assembled into a spring assembly, usually by interconnecting the strands or rows by means of helical lacing wires. When those strands or strings are cut-to-length, the ends of those cut-to-length strings are then conventionally formed into a target area for the application of a border rod to be clipped around the periphery of the spring assembly. This clipped border rod then offers perimeter edge support, spring assembly unit sizing assistance, and protects the mattress construction and consumer from coming in contact with cut coil ends. The border rods also function to prevent entanglement of spring assemblies with one another during production and packaging of the spring assemblies or shipment to seating or mattress manufacturers. But for the reasons set forth hereinabove, those border rods are maintained on such continuous wire spring assemblies even when such assemblies are encased in foam side panels as well as top and bottom panels. There would be a substantial cost savings if the border rods could be eliminated from such spring assemblies, but for the reasons set forth hereinabove, that has not, to this date, been done.
It has therefore been an objective of this invention to provide a continuous wire spring assembly which eliminates the border rod conventionally used in such assemblies while still providing an assembly which has perimeter edge support, does not require sizing assistance and which protects the mattress manufacturer and consumer from coming into contact with cut coil ends.